


Stay

by ravenslight



Series: Huffleclaw & Ravenpuff Bingo [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bingo, F/M, a wee bit of angst, still no smut lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:29:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22705495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenslight/pseuds/ravenslight
Summary: The war ended, Harry Potter faded into anonymity the way he always wanted, and Hermione Granger… well, she has a plan to get back the one thing that didn’t make it out of the war unscathed: her relationship.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Series: Huffleclaw & Ravenpuff Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619008
Comments: 12
Kudos: 123





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyKenz347](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKenz347/gifts).



> A one-shot in response to the bingo card LadyKenz347 made me. G4: “I left because you never asked me to stay.”
> 
> Ope, sorry to gift you another fic tonight lol

**Stay**

****

The room Hermione paced back and forth across was entirely too cold for the unseasonably comfortable autumn day outside. Neither here nor there, she pulled her cardigan tight around her midsection, crossing her arms across her chest as she waited for the telltale sound of expensive dragonhide shoes clicking down the corridor behind a swinging wooden door.

The proprietor had said he’d be but a moment to track down the reason—the _person_ —she’d come here for, but it was nearing the twenty minute mark and all that had emerged from the back room was a sliver of golden light from the setting sun.

Ten more minutes. That’s all the longer she’d wait. 

But as ten minutes came and passed and still no one emerged from the back room, Hermione dropped into a dusty chair, holding her breath through the plume of dirt that rose up in a whirlwind around her. Muttering a harsh expletive, she heaved herself up right, aiming her wand at her dress with a muttered, “ _Scourgify_.”

It was ridiculous to dress up, but… 

She waved her wand at the chair, tilt her nose in disgust, and another flick of her wrist peeled what she was sure was a quarter century’s worth of dust from the chair’s velvet upholstery. Before she could sit, though, the air shifted behind her, the quiet _snick_ of the door putting her on high alert.

Heart in her throat, she turned, praying to Merlin that it was him.

She’d not prepared herself for what she would do upon receiving confirmation of her wish.

Draco Malfoy looked good. The last time she’d seen him, he had been racing after his mother in the aftermath of Voldemort’s demise. The dust hadn’t even settled from the air before he was gone. Now, the wounds of battle were gone, but a shadow of the haunted expression he’d worn the last time she’d seen him still lingered.

One year and six months. Hermione had given him plenty of time to find her, to explain where he’d gone, _why_ he’d gone, but she wasn’t waiting any longer.

“You’ve grown your hair out.” What a stupid thing to say upon seeing him again. But it was true, the front of it combed back in a neat coiffe that highlighted the high planes of his cheekbones. It did little to hide the hollows beneath his eyes, the deep black bruising that he tried to hide with a half-hearted charm, and Hermione rocked on the spot to stop herself from striding forward and cupping his chin.

Looking away from her, Draco rounded the counter, approaching the apothecary shelves with the vials full of potions he grasped. “I have.” His tone was measured, careful and quiet. But Hermione didn’t miss the way his gaze flickered to hers from the corners of his eyes.

Smoothing non-existent wrinkles from the front of her skirt, Hermione followed him across the shop, studying the way he gently settled the vials into their respective cubby. After a moment, she cleared her throat, searching for the right words to say. “How are you—after the war?” The question felt clunky, and a grimace pulled her features tight. “I mean to say… where did you go?” 

Draco turned, eyeing her distrustfully before he crossed the worn carpet, placing a vial on the opposite shelf. A frisson of unease ran down her spine; she recognised that look, the cool detachment that he forced in place to hide whatever he was feeling. “Azkaban,” he uttered into the silence, “for two months. Mother and I were placed under temporary arrest until our role in the rise of the Dark Lord could be ascertained.” 

Stomach flip-flopping with the weight of that explanation, Hermione drew her lip in between her teeth as tears crowded her eyes, their tight hold clawing at her throat. “And you didn’t think to, I don’t know… Floo me?” She cleared her throat, jerking her head away to examine the myriad of vials interspersed on the dust-covered shelves when he turned, final vial held limply in his hands. “I could have helped… could have submitted memories of what occurred in the Manor to supplement your testimony.”

A dull thud sounded behind her, following the tinkling of broken glass, and she whirled around. Draco stood, back hunched and fist flat against the shelf, with his head bowed in shame as the potion spilled over broken pieces of the vial. Blood seeped through the tight cracks between his fingers, mingling with the potion. “It’s never been that easy, Granger. You should know that better than anyone.”

Slowly, she approached him, afraid he may spook if she moved too quickly. When she paused before him, feet nudging broken glass away from his feet, she laid a tentative hand on his back. The muscles rippled once at her touch before they returned to stone. “I’m here, Draco. I always have been.” When he didn’t move away, she slid her other hand along his torso, turning him until he was forced to look her in the eyes. “Always will be.”

The unspoken _if you’ll let me_ hung between them.

His gaze shuttered. “Granger, I—”

“Why didn’t you come to me when you got out?” Emotion crowded her throat, but she pushed through it. “Why did you leave Hogwarts?”

Several seconds passed, the tick of a clock somewhere in the apothecary denoting each agonising moment that Draco refused to respond, but when she took another step, glass crunching beneath her shoes as she invaded his space, he took a shuddering breath. “I left because you never asked me to stay.” Naked vulnerability shone in Draco’s gaze. 

Part of her wanted to argue the logic. She shouldn’t have _needed_ to ask, but Draco had never been one to pick up on the subtle clues she’d left him—given the reason she’d had to corner him in the boys lavatory in sixth year to demand he accept her help.

They weren’t meant to fall in love, but… 

She wouldn’t change it. 

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she tilted her face up to his. Beneath the mask, the trepidation he wore like a shield, she could sense the fierce longing that had always been there. That was what had drawn her to him in the first place. Needing to fix things was second nature to her, but she hadn’t even remotely considered that he might fix her too. “I’m sorry.” 

Like a balloon pierced by a needle, he sagged, his shoulder digging into the shelf he leaned against. For the first time since he’d walked through the back door of the shop, something like hope glinted deep in his eyes. “Why?” he breathed. 

Slowly, her hand slid up his arm, toying with the rolled bunch of fabric just below his elbow. “It’s never been easy between the two of us, has it?” When he shook his head, a half-smile fighting for a place on his lips, she continued, pulling his hand toward her and murmuring healing spells. “I’ve known that you needed that verbal recognition, the _confirmation_ , and I didn’t give you that before I left with Harry and Ron.” 

Draco’s jaw worked. “I hoped, when you told me you were leaving, that—” He cut himself off, lips pressed tightly together. “But then you were gone, and I knew then that I was just some idle pastime.” 

Her hand tightened on his bicep, a small noise of protest escaping her. “You were _never_ just an idle pastime, Draco.” Heart hammering in her throat, she released him, finally cupping his jaw and brushing over the layer of stubble that coated it. “I should have told you then. I should have—”

But his gaze snapped open, his hand finding hers and cupping over it as intensity burned in his gunmetal gaze. Hoarsely, he whispered, “Told me _what_ , Granger?”

A disbelieving scoff wrapped within a sob escaped her. “That I _loved you_ , you prat.” She looked up at him, his visage blurry through her unshed tears. “That I _still_ love you.”

A strangled gasp was the only warning Hermione had before Draco crashed into her, their lips colliding in a desperate bid to just be _closer_. And though she was startled by its voracity, Hermione quickly leaned into it, nipping at his bottom lip with whispered apologies and love. Hands splaying over his ribs, she prayed the shop owner wouldn’t come back and backed Draco into the shelves with bruising kisses between his whispered please.

_Stay._

Gods, she’d missed him.

**Author's Note:**

> This has not been alpha read or beta read! Be kind, please lol


End file.
